The company "Momentum", majority owned by the wife of Predrag Kažić, was awarded a lease for a house in the so-called Blue Zone, in Podgorica's market, in a competition run by the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica, along with 31 other companies, which ends tomorrow.
The agency signed a contract with them after checking the validity and correctness of the offer.
"The Commission took the position that the offer of the company 'Momentum', along with other correct submitted documentation, meets the conditions of the relevant Public Call and ranked it thirteenth in the Blue Zone, with an offered lease price of 1.700 euros excluding VAT, or 2.057 euros including VAT," the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica told Television Vijesti.
The company's description of its activities in the Central Register of Business Entities states that it provides consulting services. On the other hand, according to the terms of the competition, the tenants of the houses could be companies and entrepreneurs engaged in catering and trade activities.
The Agency claims that this is not a violation of the competition conditions:
"The public invitation did not require these persons to perform the listed activities as their main activity. Upon reviewing the documentation of the bidder 'Momentum' doo, the Commission determined that the extract from the CRPS stated that the main activity was consulting activities, while it was additionally indicated that the bidder was engaged in foreign trade. Also, the existence of a subsidiary was recorded under the name: Company for production, trade and services, 'export-import' Momentum doo Podgorica, Subsidiary 'Royal Ketering' Podgorica".
The Podgorica opposition says that it is controversial that Kažić's company received the stand, and that many caterers and food producers were left without the opportunity to offer their products and services, for whom this is their primary activity:
"I don't want to generalize, I'm saying that this is not the case with everyone, but these individual cases where public officials from the capital, who are founders of companies, win these tenders, really cast, how would I say, a shadow over and affect the credibility of all decisions made in that process," said Party of European Progress (SEP) official Ilija Mugoša.
It also remains unclear why the Agency did not further clarify in the published final list of tenants that 'Momentum' was, among other things, chosen because of the activities of the subsidiary or daughter company, which deals with catering, i.e. food preparation and delivery.
And that Momentum has a subsidiary that deals with this was confirmed by Predrag Kažić in a telephone conversation with Television Vijesti. He pointed out that they applied for the competition and were awarded the lease of this house on the main square in Podgorica in accordance with the regulations and that there were no violations of the procedure.
He said that he was the owner of Momentum until March last year, and that since then the company has been majority-managed by his wife. Kažić is the executive director of FK Budućnost and the president of the board of directors of the city's water utility, and was a candidate for councilor on the joint list of PES and Democrats in the last local elections in Podgorica.
Note: The previous version of the text incorrectly stated that Kažić was the president of FK Budućnost.
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